Chelsea Handler under fire for Oscar jokes

Mar. 3, 2014
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In this May 2, 2013 file photo, Chelsea Handler arrives at 'An Unforgettable Evening' benefiting EIF's Women's Cancer Research Fund at The Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif. Handler drew accusations of racism Sunday night, March 2, 2014, after she took over The Huffington Postís Twitter account for several hours and repeatedly touted her upcoming book, 'Uganda Be Kidding Me,' whenever '12 Years A Slave' received an Academy Award. / Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP

by Cindy Clark, USA TODAY

by Cindy Clark, USA TODAY

The comedienne and talk show host is in hot water today for jokes she made last night while serving as The Huffington Post's guest tweeter during the Academy Awards. At 8:30 p.m. ET, @HuffingtonPost announced to its nearly four million Twitter followers that they were handing over the account to Handler, with instructions to "Take it away!" And boy, did she: Several of her jokes were racially charged, starting with a response to Lupita Nyong'o's win for best supporting actress: "#AngelinaJolie just filed adoption papers #lupitanyongo #Oscars -@chelseahandler"

She also jumped on the opportunity to promote her upcoming book, Uganda Be Kidding Me, which is out Tuesday, and did so again when 12 Years a Slave won for best picture. "Congratulations #12yearsaslave Go to Africa or buy #ugandabekiddingme"

She later tweeted: "#AngelinaJolie's adoption went through #sidneypoitier"

She concluded her Twitter takeover with "Thank you @HuffingtonPost #imsorry"

It was too late, as Twitter users were already responding to Handler's tweets expressing their outrage.

In a statement to theGrio, Perri Dorset, Huffington Post Senior Executive Director for Communications, said, "the views (expressed by Handler) are not ours. ...The Huffington Post occasionally has celebrities take over our Twitter handle including Bill Maher during the State of the Union," she added.